The Yankees have to beat up on the Orioles this week at Yankee Stadium. After losing two of three in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago, the Yankees have to stack wins against the team the rest of the division will stack wins against. Some thoughts on the Yankees coming out of the day off following the sweep of the Guardians.

Gerrit Cole hasn't pitched like himself since the end of last August. Over his last nine starts, he has turned in one good one, and he didn't even get past the fifth inning in that one. On Tuesday against the Tigers, Cole lasted 1 2/3 innings, walked a career-high five batters, including the Tigers' 7 through 9 hitters consecutively. The pitcher who was supposed to be the one sure-thing in the Yankees' rotation has become their least reliable and worst starter.

The Yankees essentially brought back the same team from last season that failed miserably to meet expectations, and they're failing to meet expectations again. When you take the 10th-best offense in the American League and only add 36-year-old Josh Donaldson and .670-career-OPS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, you get an offense that just scored six runs in 29 innings at Camden Yards.

A night after getting shut out, the Yankees shut out the Blue Jays 4-0 to even the series at a game apiece. Nestor Cortes provided the Yankees with the best start they have received one turn through the rotation, and the bullpen pitched another 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

With the bullpen depth the Yankees have, there's never a bad option entering the game. Gone are the days of fringe-to-bad major-league relievers trying to get outs for the Yankees, while praying the line drives hit by opponents would find fielders. The Yankees have constructed the deepest and best bullpen ever.

The Yankees opened the season with a series win over the Red Sox, and it should have been a series sweep.

Mike Hurley of CBS Boston joined me to talk Yankees-Red Sox and about contract extensions since like the Yankees with Aaron Judge, the Red Sox have unsuccessfully tried to extend Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.

Yankees baseball is back and so is the annual Yankees over/unders podcast.

Andrew Rotondi of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to go through our annual over/unders for the Yankees' roster.

The Yankees had the opportunity to put together a clear favorite roster in the American League for 2022. They instead chose to put together a roster that could be really good if an abundance of things go their way.

Frank Marco of Bronx Pinstripes joined me to talk about the Yankees' offseason moves and why there is optimism for the roster and team they have built.

The Yankees are a mess. The front office has taken a roster that wasn't good enough to clinch a postseason berth until the final at-bat of the regular season last year, and a roster whose postseason lasted nine innings, and they have made it worse. Hal Steinbrenner doesn't think that's what happened, and he said as much on Wednesday.

After breaking down Steinbrenner's comments to the media, White Sox Dave of Barstool Sports joined me to talk about the offseason and his perspective of the Yankees as a fan of a team that has already clinched a playoff berth.

A day later I still feel the same way about the Yankees' trade for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, which has only created more questions about the state and direction of the roster.